1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to containers, such as for example corrugated containers, paperboard containers, etc. having tear lines and blanks for making such containers. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the word container is being used broadly to include, but not be limited to boxes, cartons, bags etc. and not limited in anyway to the material used.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Today, many types of containers have been developed for the attractive packaging of articles, such as food products, drug items, cosmetics, and the like. Conventionally, the containers are formed from a one-piece blank of material which is cut, scored and folded to produce a generally rectangularly shaped box.
The art is replete with various other designs of cartons, which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. D436,859 to Botsford et al.; 5,881,884 to Podosek; 5,979,749 to Bozich; 6,073,833 to Desrosiers et al.; 6,102,277 to Krapohl, Sr.; 6,435,351 to Gibb; 6,752,262 to Boriani et al.; 6,766,941 to Tokarski; and 6,935,557 to Aubry et al.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,749 to Bozich, for example, teaches a carton that includes a front panel, a back panel, and side panels. The carton includes a top panel and a bottom panel. The carton includes a tear line extending about the periphery of the carton. The tear line extends into a gripper used by a consumer (not shown) to tear the tear line to expose the carton to an open top as a top cover is removed from the carton. A display section is defined in the front panel and can be separated from the front panel by a perforation or tear line. All items contained in the carton are exposed to and are accessible to the consumer when the top cover is removed from the carton. The items are only available for display purposes when the display section is severed from the front panel.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,277 to Krapohl, Sr., for example, teaches a carton having a front panel, a back panel, and side panels. The carton includes a top panel and a bottom panel. The carton includes a tear line extending about periphery of the carton. The tear line extends into a gripper used by a consumer to tear the tear line to expose the carton to a first opening as the bottom of the carton is removed. The top panel is defined by a pair of flaps with each flap being integral with and extending from the front panel and the back panel, respectively. The flaps are mechanically interconnected with one another and present a second opening. The carton is designed for holding a bag containing perishable goods. One of the most common problems associated with the prior art patents is a configuration of the perforations or slits along the tear line, which results in the corners, defined between the front, back, and side panels, being damaged and deformed.
There is a constant need in the area of the packaging industry for an improved carton adaptable for dual dispensing of a product contained therein at a user's preference and an improved configuration of the perforations or slits along the tear line.